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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · mate · pitcher · date · straw · tear · shower · bore

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mate — a partner
  6. ground — a position
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bore — to tire
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tear — from crying
  20. date — the fruit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com